KIWA Comes Out!
Wednesday October 15, 2008 | Los Angeles
On Saturday, October 11th, after a joint voter outreach walk with SHEPMA (Silverlake Hollywood Echo Park Metropolitan Alliance) and SAN (South Asian Network), KIWA held a community lunch featuring speakers to commemorate National Coming Out Day and to celebrate LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer) equality. National Coming Out Day events raise awareness of the LGBTQ community among the general public, give a familiar face to the LGBTQ rights movement and promote awareness of LGBT families living honest and open lives.
As a way to honor the full diversity of the Koreatown and LA communities, KIWA felt it important to celebrate National Coming Out Day as an acknowledgement of the unique experience of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer members of our community. “We have made a lot of progress toward equality for all, but homophobia still hurts a lot of people,” said Organizer Rebeca Ronquillo. “Today’s event is an opportunity to show our support for LGBTQ members of our community. We value the diversity of our community and want to help create an open and safe environment of justice and acceptance for everyone.”
Although we’ve seen progress toward equality, homophobia and lack of understanding about the LGBTQ community are still problems in all our communities. The current battle over Proposition 8 is a prime example. Even though there is widespread support of the recently won right to marriage equality, a vicious campaign is spreading fears and misconceptions to take away this civil right. Sadly, many groups, including some in LA’s Asian immigrant communities, are actively promoting confusion, hate and intolerance to pass Prop 8.
In the Asian community—even right here in Koreatown—the anti-equality sentiment is particularly disappointing in light of the experience historically of Asians with anti-miscegenation laws, which prohibited Asians from marrying people of other racial backgrounds. It wasn’t until 1948 that the California Supreme Court ruled to strike down laws banning interracial marriage; and it was not until 1967 that the US Supreme Court followed suit.
Deanna Kitamura of API Equality LA reminded us of this history during her talk and also shared some statistics about the overwhelming number of Asian same-sex couples and their families who would be hurt by Prop 8. In California, more than 13,000 Asian/Pacific Islanders identified themselves as living with a same-sex partner in Census 2000, and nearly one out of ten of California's same-sex couples include at least one API individual (due to inter-ethnic couples).
API Equality LA is a coalition of organizations and individuals working in the local Asian and Pacific Islander community to build support for the right of same-sex couples to marry. API Equality-LA uniquely bridges the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community with the civil rights and other social justice communities, united by a common understanding of the parallels between past anti-miscegenation and current marriage equality struggles. Similar to the voter outreach work KIWA, SHEPMA and SAN have been doing, API Equality LA has been organizing phonebanks and other outreach opportunities to raise awareness about this important issue. Deanna thanked those present, who had just reached out to hundreds of voters to educate people about propositions on the November ballot, including Prop 8. She commented that it was great to be speaking with a room full of activists.
KIWA Board President Younghui Kim also remarked on the power of taking action together with the confidence of success. She emphasized that our struggles—those of immigrant workers and of the LGBTQ community—are all connected and proclaimed KIWA’s support.
The lunch closed with a powerful speech in English and Spanish by Lilia Garcia of the Maintenance Cooperation Trust Fund, an organization that has for years fought for immigrants’ and workers’ rights. Lilia has been at the forefront of these battles and talked about the basic humanity of equal rights for all, including LGBTQ people. Lilia shared her own experience of coming out to her family and spoke about her mother’s gradual understanding. She discussed the complex and difficult but wonderful process of acceptance and the power of messages of love and tolerance from our religious leaders. She also reminded us that our struggle is not a new or unexpected one—that throughout history so many groups have fought to be included and they have won. Today’s LGBTQ movement is a part of that legacy.
In sum, KIWA’s activities this day were a reminder that we are all more powerful when we come together and that we can achieve great things when we recognize our unity despite difference. Throughout October, KIWA, SHEPMA and SAN are reaching out to voters through phonebanks and voter walks all around the city. To participate, contact us!